Alec's First Christmas
by SisterWitch
Summary: As Alec prepares for his very first Christmas he can't help but think back to where he was last year, and all that he went through. As the Head of the NY Institute he thought that he couldn't take time for himself. That he had to throw all that he had into his work, and it cost him. See how Alec comes to terms with the consequences with his stubbornness and moves forward...


Alec's First Christmas

Alec stared at the twinkling lights on the tree. For some reason he was captivated by them. He had seen Christmas tree's before, but he had never had one. Shadowhunters didn't do mundane holidays. They didn't do _any_ holidays. They were Shadowhunters. We worked night and day, every day, killing demons, bringing in rouge downworlders who had broken the accords, keeping the mundanes safe so they could celebrate their mundane traditions in the warmth of their homes. We rarely got days off_._ We were always on call_._ It was our life, our duty. It was what we were born and raised to do. The angel Raziel had gifted us with angel blood, giving us greater strength, heightened senses, and the power of runes. We were raised to be fearless warriors that chased down what went bump in the night.

Magnus had told me about his travels. The things he's seen and the places he's been. The trips I took were to Idris and other Institutes. Being the Head of the NY Institute I didn't have the time to actually see the world I was helping to protect. He had flipped when I told him I had never had a Christmas. Or Thanksgiving, the one with the Pilgrims and a lot of food. He made a vow then and there that we were going to have holidays. We were going to take time to celebrate, we were going celebrate just being ourselves and catch our breath.

And after what happened a little over a year ago, he always waited up for me now, it didn't matter what time I came in. He was up and had a nice meal ready. He promised that he would look after me, take care of me. And put his foot down when he had to.

It was a brutally cold winter last year. The bitter cold had set in early. I was at my desk going over field reports with Jace and Izzy. After going through a dozen reports and any injuries in the field, my sister suggested a break. Despite the hours of work I still had ahead of me she insisted. She said I looked tired and wouldn't take no for an answer. She pushed until I finally agreed. When I stood up from my desk a wave of dizziness and nausea hit me. Had Jace not been as fast as he was, I would have hit the floor, but he caught me before I fell. Izzy lost her shit. I never got sick. She insisted that we call the Institutes resident physician. Once I sat and the dizziness passed, I insisted I was fine. That I had just gotten up too fast. But she wasn't having it. Despite my protests, she called the infirmary and requested the doctors presence in my office. She thought I looked pale, which is saying something with my already pale complexion. When the doctor arrived Jace and Izzy spoke on my behalf, not letting me speak for myself. He listened to their recounting and then finally mine. I told him the same thing that I had told my parabati and sister. He wanted to do a quick exam to make sure everything was as it should be, just to be safe. He tested my blood sugar first, then my blood pressure. Then he took it again. I could tell that he was worried when he checked it a third time. He told me that my blood pressure was incredibly high and had me lie down on the couch that sat in my office. Then he gave me a small pill to put under my tongue. When he checked it again thirty minutes later, he said "Mr. Lightwood, I think we should move you to the infirmary. Your blood pressure is way too high and it's not coming down." I assured him that wasn't necessary, that I just needed to call it a day and head home. He said "I can't allow that, Mr. Lightwood. It's not safe for you to leave the Institute in this condition. As the Institutes resident physician I _can_ pull you from active duty until I deem you fit. Right now you're not fit. We can either go down together so I can tend to you, or I can dose you and have you taken down." That was the last thing I wanted. Being taken down meant being moved through the Institute on a stretcher in front of every Shadowhunter there, so I agreed. Together we made the trip to the infirmary without any weird looks or scrutiny, at least that I could see.

Once there he made me lie down again and a nurse started an IV. "I'm going to give you some more medication, Mr. Lightwood, to try and stabilize your blood pressure. Try and relax." Yeah right, like that was going to happen. While the nurses hooked me up to their machines I watched as he pushed medication into my IV. 'This is a waste of time' I thought. Time I could use getting stuff done so I could go home, but I didn't say anything. A nurse laid a warm blanket over me and took off my shoes. "Do you need something to help you relax, Mr. Lightwood?" The doctor asked. I guess he could tell that I was on edge. I had only ever been in the infirmary after an injury in the field, not for something as little as a bit of high blood pressure. I declined but he insisted. "Mr. Lightwood, your blood pressure is not improving, despite the medication. This is more serious than I think you realize. Having a blood pressure this high is extremely dangerous. We have to get it down and one of the best ways to do that is if you relax. I can give you a low dose to at least take the edge off your anxiety. Don't try and deny it, your vitals speak for themselves. You're having severe anxiety and don't even seem to realize it." "I really don't think I need it, but if it will make you feel better, fine." I said. "Good." was his only reply.

A few minutes later the nurse handed him a syringe that he connected to my IV. "I really don't think this is necessary." I protested. "It's for the best, Mr. Lightwood. Just try and relax." I watched with irritation as he pushed the plunger that would fill my veins with a medication that I didn't want or think I needed. I felt the warmth run through my veins and within seconds I felt my body start to relax. I sighed and sank back into the bed. "That's better." He said.

A few minutes later my sister came in. "How is he?" she asked. He led her out into the hall, I guess to discuss my 'condition'. Five minutes later they came back in and she came to my side. I could see the worry in her eyes, worry that she was trying to hide, but she couldn't hide anything from me. I knew her too well. "How are you feeling?" She asked, brushing a hand through my hair. She almost never did that. Only when I was severely injured. "I feel fine. I'm just tired. I want to go home." "I don't think you can go home right now. Do you want me to call Magnus?" That was the last thing I wanted. Magnus would just worry and fret and there wasn't any need for that. "No. I just want to go home." I said, pushing myself up in the bed. "Mr. Lightwood, you need to lie back down." The doctor insisted. "No. I don't. I want to go home." Izzy held my shoulder to stop me while she looked at the doctor. She gave him a small nod. "Catherine." The doctor called to a nurse. "Iz, let go of me." "I can't. I'm sorry. I'm doing this for you." She said. I didn't see the syringe the nurse handed to the doctor, or when he stuck it in my IV. But I did feel the warmth of the liquid running through my veins. "Iz?" I asked as my vision blurred. "I'm sorry, big brother." She said as she helped the doctor lay me back on the bed and lower my head. My limbs felt weak and heavy. "You need this." She said, pressing a soft kiss to my forehead, her hand cupping my cheek. She sounded really far away. With each blink my eyes felt heavier and within seconds she faded away.

When I was able to open my eyes again, Magnus was at my side, holding my hand. "Hi there, hansom." He said, brushing a hand through my hair. He knew that was my one weakness. "How are you feeling?" I could see the concern etched around his. "What..what did they do to me?" I asked. "It's alright sweetheart. You just needed a little rest." The doctor came back in, looking at the tablet that must have held my vitals. "How are you feeling, Mr. Lightwood?" He asked. "Any better?" "What did you do to me?" I demanded. "You were quite distressed, sir. You were becoming uncooperative and a danger to yourself. In trying to leave you forced my hand. I had to sedate you. Your heartrate has stabilized but your blood pressure is still very high."

Hearing that pissed me off. "You did what? You had no right." I said, outraged. "I had every right, Mr. Lightwood. Your sister gave consent." An alarm went off somewhere behind me. "Alexander, please calm down." Magnus said, looking at the monitor behind me. The nurse handed the doctor a syringe. "What is that?" I demanded. "Another dose of your blood pressure medication." He said, pushing the medication quickly into my IV. The nurse handed him another faster than I could blink. "Just relax, Mr. Lightwood." He said, pushing another drug into me. "This will help." "Help what?" I asked, as my vision started to blur again. "It's alright, Alexander. Let them do their job." Magnus said, softly caressing my cheek. "Close your eyes and sleep." I wanted to reply back. I wanted to protest. But I couldn't. My mind wouldn't focus, I couldn't think. Before I could get a word out my body betrayed me. Slowly the love of my life faded away before my eyes.

I was in the Institutes infirmary for two days. They had moved me from the treatment room into the main facility shortly after sedating me. There was no way that I was leaving anytime soon. Magnus later told me that every few hours they would push more medication for my blood pressure through my IV and when I started to stir another sedative. They had done so until my blood pressure came down to a high but normal level. That was when they stopped sedating me and let me wake up. I was groggy at first, but I was slowly regaining my ability to think. Magnus was at my side when the doctor came in. "I'm willing to release you, Mr. Lightwood, with condition. Your blood pressure is stable but is still high. I'm sending you home with an oral medication to take twice a day. You are to continue taking this medication until I tell you otherwise. I've pulled you from duty for the next week. You need to rest as much as possible and let Magnus take care of you." "I can't be gone for a week. I have an Institute to run." I protested. "Don't worry about the Institute, Alexander. I'll take care of it. Your health is more important." My father said. I hadn't even noticed him come in. "Do what the doctor says. It will still be here when you get back." "I will see you in a week, Mr. Lightwood." The doctor said. "You'll need my clearance before you can return to active duty." They had me. I had no leg to stand on. With my father there, the Institute was in good hands. I later learned that Izzy had sent word to him in Idris when they moved me into the main facility. She and Jace had managed as co-heads until he had arrived to take command. Finally, I was sent home, with a kiss and hug from my sister, a light shoulder punch from Jace, and the reassurance of my father.

As soon as we stepped through the portal from the Institute Magnus ordered me straight to bed. I protested. I had been in bed for two days. Magnus had already been unwilling to let us commute home, he had insisted on portaling us. He thought the commute would be too strenuous and with the weather being what it was, he didn't want me out in the cold. I was then given two choices, the couch, or the bed. After changing into warm pajamas I stretched out on the couch. I had intended to watch TV. Magnus later told me that I was out before the first commercial ended. That entire day I slept. It wasn't until the next morning that I finally realized that everyone had been right. I was exhausted and needed a break. The doctor had sent me home with the blood pressure medication as we had discussed and a bottle of anxiety pills that we hadn't. He had told Magnus that the break in my normal routine could cause a shock to my system that could cause increased anxiety. As if two days of being sedated in the infirmary hadn't. I was to take it as needed, or more correctly, as Magnus said so.

We spent two days at the loft with me resting while he served me warm soups and stews, 'to fight off the winter chill', he said. But spending so much time around my lover had me wanting him, but the most I got was a few blowjobs. They were magnificent blowjobs, Mangus could work magic with his tongue, but he felt anything more would be too strenuous. I quickly came to hate that word. I took the blood pressure medication as prescribed and the occasional anxiety pill at his request. He wanted me to rest as much as possible, even if that meant medicating me from time to time. Late into the second day Magnus said, "How about we get out of here for a while". I was stunned. "Where do you want to go? It's freezing outside." "Don't worry about that, love. It's a surprise." With a snap of his fingers two packed duffels appeared at his feet.

We stepped out of the portal onto a beautiful private beach. The weather was wonderful. It was warm and the sand was soft beneath my feet. I had never been to a beach. With my complexion Mangus had insisted that I wear sunscreen, which he just happened to have. Who would argue when a gorgeous man was willing to rub sweet smelling lotion all over your body? We splashed in the water and I picked my first sea shells. When I felt tired, Magnus settled me into a porch swing for a nap. That's when the anxiety pills came out. I pouted but he insisted. So we spent that first day playing on the beach and splashing in the warm water with me napping on a porch swing, which was totally new to me, and settling in for the night in the small cottage beside the water. For the first time since my 'illness' my Magnus made love to me. It wasn't hot or steamy, it was slow and passionate. It was gentle. When he filled me it was the most exquisite thing. I finally felt myself relax without the use of medication in what felt like years. We had made love deep into the night and had let the lapping water lull us to sleep.

We spent two days on that beach, playing in the sand and making gentle but passionate love. Our last day there Magnus let me make love to him in the warm water, and that night we made love on the beach while the stars twinkled above us. There were so stars like that in New York.

On the morning of the fifth day Magnus asked if I was ready to go. There was another place he wanted to take me. I was loving the beach, but he was excited to take me someplace new, so I agreed. With a snap of his fingers I was dressed in warm winter wear and our bags were packed at our feet. "What?" He asked when I raised my brows at him. We had just left the cold. "Don't worry, love. You're going to love it." And with that we stepped through another portal and onto soft snow on a beautiful mountain top. The beauty of it all took my breath away.

Everywhere I looked there was pristine white snow sparkling in the sunlight, nothing remotely like the snow that turned to sludge at home, and magnificent ice capped mountain tops all around us. "Welcome to the Rockies, Alexander." My lover said as a snowball hit my face. It was on that mountain top that I had my first snowball fight. The first time that I had played in clean, pure white snow. There was more than enough snow for my first snowman. A real snowman with a top hat and coal eyes and a carrot nose that Magnus conjured for him. With his scarf snapping in the wind we named him Jerry. "Come on, love. Let's get you in out of the cold." Magnus said, pulling me towards the chalet as the sun dipped low.

Once inside Magnus grabbed me by my coat, pulling me in for a fierce kiss. Our tongues danced a familiar dance as we undressed each other just inside the door. As the last bits of our clothes fell away Magus cushioned my fall onto a thick, soft rug in front of a roaring fire. I took quick nips and bites at the tender skin of his neck while his hands roamed my naked body. As he straddled me I took firm hold of his glorious ass, an ass I ached to fill. He looked breathtaking in the flickering firelight. Pushing us both up to sitting I sucked his puckered nipple into my mouth, grazing it with gently my teeth and tongue, running my hand down the cleft of his ass. "You're being a naughty boy, Alexander. Good boys keep their hands to themselves." He said, his hands running through my hair. "I don't want to be a good boy." I said, sucking his other nipple into my mouth just a little bit harder. He moaned, fingers tugging at my hair. It was heaven. The warmth of the fire, the heat of his body against mine, the taste of his nipple in my mouth and the feel of his hands in my hair. This was a far cry from slow and passionate. "Lie back." He demanded, pushing me back onto a pillow that wasn't there before. "You chose to be a naught boy. Naughty boys do naughty things. Doing naughty things have consequences." He said, climbing up my body, his hardened cock leaving a trail of precum up my chest. "So what happens to naught boys?" I asked as he gently stroked my cheek. "Open your mouth, Alexander." Moving himself up he straddled my throat, his perfect ass resting on my chest, he brought his leaking cock to my lips. He held it firm as I licked the precum from his slit. Holding his hip firmly in one hand and his cock in the other I leaned up, sucking the head of his dick into my mouth. With a deep sigh he fell forward, supporting himself on his hands above me. When he moved, my head moved with him, lying back comfortably on the soft pillow and giving me perfect access to his cock. I brushed one hand down the cleft of his ass again, holding his hip tight with the other as I sucked cock. I swirled my tongue around the sensitive head, over and over again, taking hold of his other hip. Using my tongue I pressed hard against the vein just beneath the underside of cock as I held him firmly in place above me. "Fuck, Alexander! That feels so good." He panted out. Using his words as my guide I took him further into my mouth, taking his length into my throat, hollowing out my cheeks each time I pushed his hips back for greater suction. Pulling one hand from his hip, he raised it above my hand, pinning it, before raising the other, using his magic to hold them there. Lifting his hips slowly up and down himself he fucked my mouth, making sure not to push too deep. "You have a glorious mouth, Alexander. One I love sucking my dick." Enjoying the praise I hummed in my throat knowing he would feel the vibrations throughout his entire length. Looking down into my lust filled eyes he said "You're thinking something, Alexander. Tell me what it is" as he pulled free of my mouth. Drawing in a deep breath I said "I want you. I want to fuck you. I want to be in you." "Then what's stopping you?" He asked, running his hand through my hair again. He knew how much I loved it.

I was taken by surprise at his response. He had been nothing but gentle and easy with me for days. "You have to step back into things, Alexander. Give in to what you want. Take it." He said. With a snap of his fingers a bottle of lube was in his hand. When he released my hands I snatched it without a second thought. "On your knees." He did what I asked without question. He knew what I wanted and was willing to give it to me. On his knees he pushed he glorious ass up in the air. Leaning back I studied the firm roundness that was my lovers perfect ass. Bending forward I pressed a soft kiss to the base of his spine, then each cheek. He shivered in response. Pouring a generous about of lube on my hand and down his ass crack I made short work of getting my fingers nice and slippery. Tossing the bottle aside I spread his cheeks, watching as his hole clenched. Leaning down I ran my tongue slowly from his balls across his hole. Listening to his moans I gently pushed my tongue into him. "Lilith! Alexander, please. Fuck me. Fuck me hard." He panted. I licked him again and again, listening as his moans got louder and louder, finally pulling back when he started to push back against me. I slowly pushed the tip of my dripping index finger into his clenching hole, waiting for him for him to relax around it. When he moaned I pushed further in, unsurprised when he thrust back on my finger, taking it all the way in. I held his ass firmly in place with my free hand, allowing him to adjust around my finger. "More, Alexander, I need more." He begged trying to thrust against my finger. "Shhh." I whispered, pulling out to push two fingers in. His hole clamped down on my fingers. Raziel, he was tight! My dick throbbed between my legs. Once his muscles fully relaxed I slowly fucked him with my fingers, shushing him when he begged for more. Curling my fingers I brushed them softly across his prostate, smiling with glee when he cried out. I pressed my fingers harder and harder against his that sweet spot until his quivering thighs and his moans told me that he was ready. Picking up the lube again I coated my aching cock, jerking quickly to fully lube it. Pulling my fingers from his ass I lifted him by his hips, positioning his perfect ass higher in the air. Lining myself up perfectly to his fluttering hole I rubbed my dick up and down his crack. "Please, Alexander, please. Fuck me." He begged. Slowly I pushed the head of my cock into his tight ass, holding my own moan in when his hole clamped down around me, trying to suck me in. Before his muscles could relax he plunged back against me, taking my full length into himself, fully sheathing me inside him. I gasped in pleasure when our balls slapped together. Taking a firm grip on his hips I pulled back slowly, almost out, before I pushed back in, knowing full well that my cock was grazing against his prostate. With me holding his hips still he was unable to trust back against me. He was at my mercy. I pulled back again pushing slowly back into him, listening while he begged for more. After the third gentle thrust I took a firmer grip on his hips. Pulling back, again almost out of him, I slammed back in, revealing in the sound of skin meeting skin. I set a punishing pace as I fucked him, sawing against his prostate, pushing us both towards our release. I couldn't stop the moans that escaped me. I fucked harder into his glorious ass as our moans echoed throughout the chalet. "I'm going to cum." He ground out, barely able to form words. "Let go, baby. Cum for me." I felt the familiar tingle in my own balls, knowing I wouldn't be far behind him. With two more thrusts he cried out his release, his cock shooting ropes of cum onto the thick rug beneath us. When his gloriously tight ass hole clamped down around me when he came he drug me with him, my cock exploding in his ass, filling him with ropes of my own cum. I held on for dear life as aftershocks ripped through us both. When we were both spent and panting, he collapsed on the rug, taking me with him, my cock still buried deep in his ass. "You okay?" I asked once we had caught our breath. "That was perfect" he mumbled sleepily. Using every ounce of strength I had left I pulled out of him, collapsing on the rug beside him. I pulled him into my arms, wrapping myself around him. He barely had the presence of mind to snap our sweaty bodies clean before he drifted off to sleep. I pressed a gentle kiss to his exposed neck before I drifted off myself, the fire behind me warming us.

When I woke up the next morning Magnus was nowhere in sight. The rug was clean, a warm blanket was wrapped around me, and my pillow from the previous night was tucked under my head. I climbed up, pushing past the weakness I felt in my limbs and went in search of him.

I found him in the chalets kitchen, fixing breakfast. "Morning, love." He said, glancing at me over his shoulder as I went straight for the coffee. "Sleep well?" "I did, actually." I said. "How about you?" "I did. It was the best night's sleep I've had in awhile." I knew he was referring to when I got 'sick'. He had been by my side my entire time in the infirmary. And he had barely left it at the loft. "You look tired, love. I guess you wore yourself out." "I was hoping to wear _you_ out. I guess I succeeded." I said, taking my first sip of coffee. "Sweetheart, you still look tired, and a bit pale. Maybe you should lie back down. I'll come get you when breakfast is ready." "I'm good. Just need a little coffee." I murmured. 'And clothes" I thought. He must have read my mind. With a snap of his fingers I was dressed in soft cotton pajamas. "Thanks." I said, almost chugging my coffee. It wasn't helping to wake me up. "Sweetheart, go sit down. I'll bring breakfast out in just a minute." I didn't miss the worried look in his eyes, but I did as he asked. A minute later he set a loaded plate in front of me. I had no desire to eat. "Something wrong?" He asked. "No. I'm just not that hungry. I don't think I'll be able to eat all this." I said, picking up my fork. He took his own seat, watching me. I could feel his eyes on me as I forced down the food. About halfway through I couldn't hold anymore. Pushing my plate my away I said "I'm full. That was excellent. Thank you." "Your welcome, love. Did you get enough to eat?" "I did." I said, taking another sip of my coffee. With a snap of his fingers my plate disappeared and a glass of juice with two bottles appeared in front of me. I looked at him and saw that 'I'm not taking no' look in his eyes. Sighing I downed both pills. It didn't take long for the anxiety meds to take effect. It never did. Having never taken them before I had no resistance built against them. Already feeling weak and tired they kicked in that much faster. Before I could finish my coffee, Magnus was helping me to bed. The warmth of the blankets and the effects of the pills pulled me into sleep quickly. I didn't know it then that Magnus sat beside me, watching over me while I slept.

When I woke up late that afternoon, I felt stronger. I felt more like myself. I found Magnus in the living room, reading a book. He looked me over thoroughly when I came in. "Hi there. Feeling better?" He asked. "Much. I guess I did need more sleep." I said, dropping onto the couch beside him. He set his book aside and reached for me. I curled up on the couch, my head resting in his lap. "I think you over did it last night." He said, running his fingers through my hair, just the way I liked it. "I think we need to go a little easier. You pushed yourself too far." "Mm-hmm." I mumbled, perfectly content resting with my head in his lap, his fingers in my hair, and a roaring fire in front of me. Memories of the night before flashed through my mind. It had been wonderful. Every second of it had been amazing. It had been what I had been craving for days but had been denied, because it would be too 'strenuous'. As much as I had come to hate that word, he was right, even though he didn't speak the words that made me cringe. It was. I hated this. I hated being 'sick'. I was never going to get back to work. Everything I had worked so hard for, everything that I was so good at, was going to be ripped away, because of my fucking blood pressure. Everyone would think that I couldn't handle it. That I wasn't strong enough. That I couldn't handle the pressure. They would think that I was weak, a failure. Everything I had worked so hard to prove, to everyone, that I wasn't weak or a failure, would go out the window in a finger snap. "What are thinking about, love? You seem tense." "I'm going to lose everything, aren't I? My position, everything that I worked for, there going to take it all away, aren't they?" "No, sweetheart. You have a stressful job. And you push yourself too hard. You don't take any downtime. You never let yourself take a break from it. Your father told me that this is a problem that most every Institute Head has. They just deal with it in different ways. Some keep a bottle of liquor in their desk. Some a bottle of pills. For him, it was the pills. But he warned me, not to let it cost us our relationship, like it had cost him his marriage." I looked up at him, shocked. My parents never told me why they had gotten divorced, a very taboo thing in the nephilim world, and I had never asked. I had just blamed him, assuming it was his fault. Something he did. And I had held resentment towards him for a long time. It was just within the past year that we had begun to rebuild our relationship, one that was never very close to begin with. Now I understood. "It might take a little time, probably more than a week for you to bounce back, but you will." He said, brushing a lock of hair out of my eyes. "He told me that you could take all the time you needed. The general cover is that the Head had returned but was away on business in Idris. He told me he wouldn't let you come back until he was sure you were ready. He wouldn't let you make the same mistakes he did. So he'll run the Institute until you get back any no one will be any the wiser. So take your time. Don't force yourself through this, love. Because you'll only make it worse." He said softly, caressing my cheek. "I didn't know. He never told me." "I know. He only told me because what happened to you happened to him, and he wanted me to understand, and know what you needed. The doctor was right when he told you to take it easy and rest as much as you can. I know how much you're enjoying this trip, and I may have rushed it a bit and for that I'm sorry. But we can take as long as you need. We don't have to stop our travels; I want you to see more of the world. A world you have worked so hard to fight for and protect. But I think we should slow down. We can spend as much time here as you want. And as much time at the next stop as you want, and the one after that. We don't have to head home until you're ready." "Really?" I asked, relief washing through me. "Really. So just relax and enjoy yourself. I think what your feeling now is my fault. I moved you from climate to climate too quickly and it finally caught up to you. Sometimes I forget that you're not like me." He said softly. I knew what he was referring to and I hated it. He was immortal. He could do things that humans couldn't. Well, things humans and half angel/half humans couldn't. He would live forever while I continued to age and grow older, eventually leaving him. He must have seen the pain in my eyes, the pain of knowing that I would one day leave him. "Hey, it's okay. We'll find a way. I promise. I just need a bit more time to find it." I nodded, resting my head back in his lap. I could feel the rise of my blood pressure in my cheeks. I felt flush. "Can I have my medicine now?" I asked. I knew I caught him off guard. I had yet to request it before. "Of course you can." With a snap of his fingers a glass of water and my anxiety meds appeared on the coffee table in front of us. Sitting up he shook one from the bottle, handing it to me with the water. I swallowed the pill and the water without a second thought. I slept the rest of that day comforted in the knowledge that we wouldn't be portaling out tomorrow. I didn't know then that he had let me sleep with my head in his lap late into the night before he had finally tucked me in on the couch. Or that he had summoned a small cot beside it so he could sleep next to me should I wake up and need anything. But I hadn't woken up. I had slept peacefully through the night.

We spent two weeks at the chalet until I felt fully rested and didn't need the anxiety meds to get through the day. Our last night there he had made love to me in the chalets one bedroom, the room we had been sleeping in, surrounded by dozens of flickering candles that he had conjured. It was romantic and sweet. He took his time, letting me revel in everything, every touch, every kiss, until I found my release. The next morning we portaled off to our next mysterious destination.

We spent five days in Milan, four in Tokyo, three in Italy, four in Rome, and a full week in Ireland, surrounded by nothing but peace and green fields with grazing cows. All places I had been to before on business, but never for pleasure. I found that the longer we stayed in each place, the more willing Magnus was to let me have my way with him. Most nights were spent with gentle but passionate lovemaking. But there were others that were 'strenuous' as Magnus like to call them. The day we finally portaled home he had insisted that I take the rest of the week to rest up and get myself readjusted to being back in New York before heading back to work on Monday. So I took it easy and napped when I felt tired. By Friday he gave me what he knew I wanted and I fucked him senseless.

Monday morning I was cleared by the Institutes doctor, someone that I had despised when I first went home after 2 days under his care. My blood pressure had returned to normal and he said that I could stop taking the blood pressure pills but gave me a new bottle of the anxiety meds, to 'keep on hand'. I saw no judgement there. This wasn't the first time he'd had to do this. With his clearance I made my way to my office, stopping when asked how things went in Idris, telling them that it had been busy but a nice change of pace. As I stepped into my office, I saw my father stuffing papers into his briefcase. "So, how'd it go?" He asked. "I think you already know." I said with a smirk. "Your right, I do. I'm glad your feeling better." He said. I suspected that the doctor had called him the moment I had left the infirmary to let him know that I was 'fit for duty'. Before he portaled out for Idris he ordered that I leave the office no later than six, unless I was needed in the field. He said that it was okay to take a day or two off here and there if I needed to, Izzy and Jace were perfectly capable of handling things while I was 'in Idris', and not to push myself over the edge again. Before he left, I gave him the first hug that I could remember in a really long time, a hug he returned. "Take care of yourself. And if you can't, let Magnus do it." He said, pressing a soft kiss to my forehead. With that he left. Settling myself behind my desk I couldn't help but smile at the photo of me and Magnus that I kept there.

"What are you thinking?" Magnus asked, snapping me back into the here and now as he straddled my lap. "Just remembering." I said. "Where we were last year." "Ah." He said. "Well, once everyone leaves, we have a few days if you want to sneak away, maybe see someplace new?" "I'd love that." I said, wrapping my arms around his waist, holding him close. He leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to my lips. The second wasn't quite so soft as I claimed his mouth, the kiss passionate and demanding. I felt his erection against mine as he ground his hips against me. Breaking the kiss he pulled back, panting. "The others will be here soon." He panted. "Can we send them away?" He chucked at my request. "No. But I do have a special Christmas present for you." "That I can have now?" I asked, confused. "I thought we had to wait to open presents." "This one's special." He said. Snapping his fingers a small box appeared in his hands. Holding it out to me I took it, excited as I ripped the sparkly paper off. Opening the box I found a vial tucked inside. I looked up at him when he cupped my cheek. When our eyes met he said "I found a way." Looking down at the vial again I knew that this Christmas was one I would never forget. Me and my Magnus would be together, forever.


End file.
